Why are bloody teachers striking AGAIN?

[noblegiraffe]

Because, dear hearts, the government, when they offered us a pay rise of 4.5%, mostly unfunded for next September and all 4 teaching unions thoroughly rejected it, Gillian Keegan said that teachers would then have to take their chances with the independent pay review body and that there would be no further negotiations.

So teachers did. And the independent pay review body, who seem to have rather more of a handle on the current crisis in teaching than the government, recommended that teachers should get a 6.5% pay rise to introduce some stability into the system.

We only know this because the independent pay review body findings have not been published, but this figure was leaked.

Calls for the government to publish the report have been ignored. Most recently, a freedom of information act request to the DfE for the report was rejected, because the DfE says it's "not in the public interest".

Why is it not in the public interest to know what the independent pay review body has recommended? This report is published every year.

In the meantime, Rishi is briefing the press that he will reject the independent pay review body's recommendations, after making a huge fuss about how he always accepts independent pay review body recommendations.

Why should this matter to parents? Because headteachers are currently trying to write their budgets for September. The end of term is approaching. This job is currently impossible because headteachers don't know how much more they are expected to pay teachers next year, (6.5%? 5?% 4.5%?) and they have no idea how much extra money their school will be given to account for the pay rise (all? some? None??). This makes a massive difference as staffing costs account for the vast majority of school budgets. Should they be planning to cut GCSE subjects? Make staff redundant? Or will they actually be able to plan in some literacy support? That they don't know is intolerable.

A senior government advisor said that school budgets last year weren't worth the paper they were written on because of this same issue, and that it shouldn't be allowed to happen again.

Yet here we are.

The government are trying to drag this out to the summer before they make their pay announcement because then they'll be on their holidays and the 4 teaching unions' ballots will have closed.

🤦‍♀️ could it be time for you to actually listen to what's being said? I suspect you are not posting in good faith, so my bet is not.

From the NEU, regarding Wednesday's and today's strike:

"We are calling on the Government to publish the STRB report and restart discussions with the unions, which Government has paused since before Easter.
‘We believe that the STRB has recommended a 6.5% across the board pay rise, and if such a rise were properly funded implementing such a rise could bring this dispute to a close."

Do you understand what the words "properly funded" mean?

The resolution for science shortage is to accept the reality that a very significant proportion of students do absolutely terribly at it and hate it and forcing them to do 5 hours a week of it hasn't changed that.

There should be a proper divergence at ks4 where students either keep up the intense quantity of science education or are allowed to have a much smaller amount of time on their timetable for science and just get one gcse in it general science. Any science teacher will tell you how pointless and soul destroying 5 hours a week of science is for bottom set kids and their teachers.

By the way people can have a physics qualification and be utterly shit teachers - I would resent a shit teacher whose students learn bugger all getting paid more than me.

Well said Nobel. Wouldn't bother too much with those who apparently can't read and don't listen anyway!

What they want to hear (whether this true or not) is 'you are right!

@Efficaciou5

There's no need for personal goady attacks. I've reported your post.

Well done Sherry you got there before me.

It's a good thread noble. Change doesn't happen overnight.

But in the meantime Hope you get a chance to put your feet up. Hard working teachers deserve it.

Thanks.

I was supportive of the strikes and especially after you explained it so well on this thread. However I read today that teachers got 4.5% last year plus a one off £1,000, and are now striking for an additional 6.5%.....i.e. a total payrise of 11% over two years. Is that correct or has it been misrepresented?

This is incorrect

No, that's not correct. We rejected the 4.5% (which was to be for this September) and the £1000 which was to boost pay from last September.

The 4.5% was mainly unfunded and would have meant taking money from other education provision in school budgets.

The 6.5% figure is what the independent pay review body has recommended for this September instead of the 4.5%. Teachers would like to know if the government are going to accept this recommendation given that when we rejected the 4.5% they said 'you'll have to wait to see what the independent pay review body recommend then'.

It is definitely true that someone can have a physics degree and be a shit teacher, but you definitely can’t have a history degree and be a good physics teacher!

Problem with suggesting a two tier education system is it perpetuates inequality, because when do you make that call? It already sort of happens when the private schools and the grammar schools can recruit and the crappier schools can’t. I do know what you mean because there are some kids who I taught this year who I know won’t pass, but I think resorting to what effectively is the old eleven plus isn’t the answer either.

Thank you for explaining

Teachers won't accept any pay offer that isn't funded by the Treasury. I know of no one who would want to take an additional penny from school budgets. The more they offer 'unfunded' the worse it is.

I would rather have had the initial 4.5% offer than the 6.5% review body recommendation if it comes out of school budgets either way. It's criminal.

I agree. Which is why people saying striking is simply for pay aren't really understanding.

Well explained.

For those who don't know the union who support staff are in are currently running a ballot.

Support staff have had increased accountability for limited pay rise (against years of pay freeze) and many are a) working agency now for better pay or b) leaving to work in supermarkets for better pay.

They'd love to remain in schools. They love supporting pupils and supporting teachers. But they also have bills to pay.

So if a support staff strike is announced it would be great if people can get behind that like they have the teachers.

I can’t remember the wording on the ballot, tbh. It probably did say funded, which it should be. With that said, some schools aren’t short of 💵

That's an interesting idea about science at KS4.

My reservation is that what would happen is a poorly thought through 2 tier system and those pupils who have a rubbish KS3 and mess around, but turn it around at KS4 because it 'matters' might be limited.

I'd love to see the option of technical and creative education pathways at KS4/5 being expanded for more pupils, similar to UTCs.
It needs to be a properly funded, properly staffed and rigorous education though so that it doesn't fall into the trap of offering some students a crap offer of mixed quality qualifications, which limits their options.

-Fund the pay rises
-Stop the demonising of teachers
-Vote in a governmet that values education
-Reinstate Sure Start
-Abolish Ofsted and replace with locally employed inspectors who regularly visit schools in theor area on a supportive (rather than punitive) basis yo address any issues early on and work together with teaches to raise standards
-Abolish testing of primary aged children

• Widen the curriculum to value learning rather than teaching to the test
• Give teaches autonomy
• Abolish academies and MAT

I could go on but fundamentally we need to make teaching an attractive career path. The constant teacher bashing is toxic and it flows down into the behaviour of kids, if they hear their parents bad mouthing teachers then that erodes the level of respect that kids show to teachers.
You can't slag teachers off one minute and then in the next breath wonder why your child hasn't had a permanent maths teacher for 5 years.

Interesting. I think the DfE probably know the teacher recruitment figures better than Sunak.

keep on keeping on strikers

TAs I understand really don't earn enough to live on.

I should imagine you guys have to cover often for whole classes and not being paid or respected for that.

Parents should march on Whitehall in support of the teachers. The govt are using a divide and conquer game, hoping that public opinion will turn against the striking teachers. If they see many potential voters turn out to express their disgust at the status quo it may have an impact. Organise now ✊

Mmmm. yes , well teachers need to understand that this is supposed to be a two way street.

I've had enough of teacher bashing, but I've had enough of parent bashing too.

Give and take, we've had to hold a lot down over recent years. And before anyone asks, I've got a physical disability in a lot of pain on and off and couldn't 'march on Whitehall' right now. Although I've done if often enough when I was younger.

There is more than one kind of activism. I'm aware that mothers don't get to go on strike. And we don't get paid either.

So if we are all supposed to be a team in education, parents, teachers, TA's and all the rest of it...let's BE a team.

Parent bashing? Many many teachers are parents too.

That's true, but there is a great deal of parent bashing out there, masses of it.